Sweet Dinda

This past summer I was at a workshop with my 2 co-6th ELA teaching buddies, Chad Hammonds, and Linda Baird. It was one of those annoying workshops where the presenter pretends we are students and makes us do collaborative activities, when really we would rather just be at home, or sleeping. Anyway, the presenter was using me as an example and said, "what is your name" and I said "Sarah" (duh.). Well she thought I said "Darah" and so she started calling me "Darah". Well my two teaching buddies and I thought this was hilarious, and we just could not stop laughing about it. In fact, from that point on they started calling me "Darah", and I now call them "Dad" and "Dinda". I have a really fun relationship with Dad and Dinda, and love them both dearly. We are constantly laughing, mostly due to Linda and her hilarious stories. I have worked with Linda ever since I got my job at BMS in January of 2007, and she has been an incredible mentor and encouragement to me over the past 4 years.

On Wednesday of this past week, Linda was in a horrible car accident. From what we can figure out, Linda had just dropped off her granddaughter at pitching practice and was heading home on a winding country road in Belton. Linda had called her husband prior to taking her granddaughter to practice and told him that she had been throwing up, and was not sure she could take her. He told her not to worry about it, and that he would take her whenever he got home from work, that she could just be "a little late". Well, I suppose Linda decided she could take her, and then her husband could pick her up when it was over. From this point, we don't know what caused the accident, but Linda hit a guardrail on a bridge, her car flipped off of the bridge, fell 40 feet, flipped upside down, and caught on fire. I have posted several links to articles and video clips on my facebook if you want to read about it. Thankfully, a "good Samaritan" as we are calling him saw the damage and realized Linda had flipped off of the bridge. He raced down the 40 feet and with the help of some other passersby, he got Linda out of her car right before it burst into flames.

Linda is alive, in stable, but very critical condition in the ICU. She broke most of her ribs, had a collapsed lung, fractured both ankles (through the skin), has multiple fractures in her legs and hips, her pelvis is all out of whack (in traction at the moment) and has burns on her face and her left arm. It is an absolute miracle that she is alive, and that as far as we know, she has no brain injuries!

Linda is "that teacher". You know, the one that has taught for 30 years, and everybody knows. When I went to the emergency room on the day of the accident, there were probably close to 20 people from the district alone. We are all heartbroken for her and her family, but also very thankful she is alive.

I went to see her yesterday. She is under sedation, so is not conscious. It was really hard on me to see her like that. She doesn't look like Linda. It is hard for me to think of her and not start crying. It is also hard for me to think of much else, until I know she is ok. I am looking forward to the day when she is awake so that I can talk to her again, and show her her students TAKS scores, and show her Makenna's pictures we took today, and show her everything about Makenna's upcoming birthday party, because she has always loved that "sweet baby" as she calls her. I just miss talking to her, and unfortunately, it might be awhile longer before I can talk to her again. (But, at least I will get to again, Praise God for saving her life!)

Please pray for Linda! Pray that her daughter is able to come to the Lord through this whole ordeal. We are hoping this might be one of the many outcomes of this horrible ordeal.

Dear Sweet Dinda,

It has been 3 days since your accident. It seems like it has been a lot longer to me. I miss talking to you so much. I am so thankful that I got to see you on Wednesday when we were turning in our TAKS buckets, because I hadn't gotten to see you all week! I have offered to take a certain student out of your 2nd period class, so that Mrs. Zendt doesn't have to deal with him while you are gone. After all, it is the least I could do after they switched my troublesome student into your class last week. :) I just want you to know that I am praying for you every moment. It absolutely breaks my heart to think of how much you are suffering. I just can't even handle thinking about it. I am so sorry you are having to go through this. You are a strong woman, and I know you will make it through this, and have another story to add to your already ginormous story collection! I can't wait until I get to talk with you about everything. I just can't wait for you to be ok. Really, what I want to say is, "you didn't have to drive off of a bridge to get out of the last month of school!" If you could hear me, I know you'd be laughing. I'm praying for you sweet friend, and I am looking forward to when I can show you this letter.

Love,
Darah

11 months....and Walking!

Makenna turned 11 months old yesterday, and officially started really walking around today! She has been toddling, and taking a few steps here and there for about a week, and then today she just started walking all over the place! Here are some other fun things Makenna is doing:

-Says "uh-oh"
-Really wants to eat table foods (even though she still only has 2 teeth!)
-Stands up (even in the bathtub...)
-She is still a smiley girl, who is usually so happy!
-Still drinking her 6 oz bottles 3 times a day
-Wearing size 6-9 month in most clothes, but is able to wear 9-12 month in some!

Here are some pics: (sorry they are blurry....she doesn't like to sit still!)





Now, off to plan her fun first birthday party! ( I can't believe it!)

Bluebonnet Pics 2011

You may remember this post from last year. My how things have changed in a year! I am not huge and pregnant, and we have a 10 month old baby girl! Yesterday we decided to take the girls to take their bluebonnet pictures. I got them these adorable shirts (from the BowDaciousBaby shop on etsy)for Easter, so we decided to make them Easter Bluebonnet Pictures!

We went to a giant field of them first, and Makenna was having the time of her life. Kailey on the other hand, was being a whiny baby and would not cooperate! But, surprisingly, we got a few that turned out pretty well.


Then, we found another small ditch of bluebonnets, and took some more, and they turned out pretty cute! I had to keep Makenna from eating the bluebonnets, by putting eggs in her hands, but hey it works!







If you want to see more pics (and by more, I mean 23409340983498) you can check out my album on my facebook page. :)

10 months!

This is a week late, but Makenna turned 10 months old last Friday! Time sure is flying by! This month, taking pictures of the little one was pretty tricky! She did NOT want to leave the sign alone! So, these are a bit creative!



Makenna is:

-Loving to eat her puffs!
-Still eating her Stage 2 foods twice a day.
-Still drinking 6oz bottles (about 4 per day).
-Still loving to play with her sister! (And in this picture, she is playing with her cousins Caleb and Caden, as well!)

-She is standing alone, and standing herself up from the ground, alone!
-Her Sunday School Teachers said she took 2 steps on Sunday! But, she still hasn't done it at home! She's getting close though, which is crazy, because she is still so tiny!
-She is really babbling alot.
-She LOVES bathtime!
-She is sleeping for about 12 hours each night (PRAISE THE LORD!!)
-She is just a sweetie pie honey bunch, who I love OH SO MUCH!

Here are a couple other fun pics of our baby girl!

It's that Time Again!

The time of the year, that is, that you get to hear me whine about the stress of the TAKS test! Well actually, I am hoping to not whine about it as much.

This past week began "the countdown". 5 weeks til TAKS (4 as of today, yipes!). Whenever this time of year comes around, I get very stressed, and emotional. We are just under so much pressure to be "recognized". All, with a bunch of students who really do NOT care about school, success, education, you name it! It is very hard to stay positive, and not feel like everything is falling apart. This year especially I am nervous, because I have 120 students, with 3 classes close to 30. I spend most of the class period just trying to keep everybody in their seat and not touching each other or throwing things! I am worried they are not paying attention to me in the slightest! On Thursday, I had an emotional breakdown after school. Just crying, big huge tears, just from being so overwhelmed.

But then last night, I read Chapter 7 of "One Thousand Gifts" by Ann Voskamp. If you haven't read this book....I highly suggest it. It is about giving thanks in the middle of trials, or even just in our everyday lives. Last night, it was about finding the joy, and God's blessings, in the midst of stress.

Hmmm. Holy Spirit much?

So today, and for the rest of these 4 weeks, I am going to find the things to give thanks for in the midst of the stress, and be grateful for all I have been given through this job of mine. Because, I am very blessed to have a teaching job, with all of the state's budget cuts to education!

Here is my list so far, for Monday:

1. A wonderful principal
2. A school, full of co-workers I am comfortable with.
3. My very sweet, first period class.
4. My cute room, decorated in black, white, and blue.
5. My word wall, that is finally getting developed.
6. Books.
7. School supplies.
8. Eyes to see.
9. An Elmo. (not from sesame street).
10. A projector.
11. A laptop
12. Busy writers.

That's all for now! :)

Makenna's 10 month post, coming soon!

9 months old!

Makenna Grace turned 9 months old this past Friday. Unfortunately, her start to her tenth month of life has been not so fun! Last Tuesday, Makenna began to run fever, and it actually got up to 103 degrees that night. This usually means she is getting another UTI, so we just upped her medication that she takes daily. Well, her fever cleared so we assumed that was what the problem was. By Thursday night she was starting to wake up and fuss during the night, so Casey took her to the doctor on Friday. They said that she has another ear infection, which they say probably means the one she had 2 weeks ago didn't fully clear up. So, they started her on a different medication. This was the weekend from you know where. She screamed every night, especially Sunday night, all. night.long. I took her back on Monday and the doctor said since the medicine wasn't working and the infection was worse and spread to 2 ears, that Makenna would have to take shots. She had one Monday, one yesterday, and one today. :( It has been very sad, but Monday night she slept solid through the night, so the shots seem to be working. We took her for her 9 month appointment today, and our pediatrician suggested we meet with an ENT doctor to look and see if Makenna might need tubes. :( Let's just say Makenna is our "sick" baby, it appears. Fortunately, Makenna is the sweetest most loving, happiest little girl you have ever seen. We just love her to peices, and it is so hard to see her suffer!

Here are her stats:

17.9 lbs (25th percentile)
26.5 inches (25th percentile)

(Today she got to wear a little hospital gown! Isn't it cute?)


She's a petite little thing!

Here is what she is up to lately:

-She is babbling. (Ma ma ma. duh duh duh. bah bah bah. You know the drill.)
- She is crawling everywhere!
-She is pulling up on everything!
-She loves to dance. We call it her "Ray Charles" because when certain songs come on, she just sways to the music with her head. It is pretty cute!
-She loves to dive off the couch. Yes you read that correctly.
-She can eat Stage 2 Gerber Jar Food. 1 Veggie and 1 Fruit per meal.
-She loves to eat puffs, and is getting really good at picking them up.
-She has also discovered a love of french fries, which helps us keep her happy at restaurants!
-She still loves to watch Kailey and play with her.
-She loves to go into Kailey's room and play.

Here are her 9 month pics, which as you can see, were somewhat of a challenge, because she did NOT want to sit by the sign!




But, I must say, the pics still turned out pretty cute!

A Day in the Life

My friend Leslie is doing these cool things every week where people share about themselves. Today's topic is "A Day in the Life" and you are supposed to share about your daily schedule. This might be a tad boring, but I like schedules, so I'm sharing mine! At least I know she will read it. :)

A Day in MY life:

(Throughout the day I am doing Weight Watchers, so add intermingled in this schedule that I am constantly convincing myself that I do NOT need to eat that cookie!)

6:15 My alarm goes off

6:30 I get out of bed

6:30-7:00 I shower, brush teeth, scrunch hair, and get dressed. Right now my morning routine is very short because 1) I need a haircut, and until I get one, I scrunch the hair then put it up once I get to school, 2) I am completely out of make-up and 3) My contacts are not working for me right now, so I just wear my glasses. Yes that is correct, my routine is short because I am turning into a frump. :)

7:00-7:10 I pack my lunch and fix me some breakfast to eat on the way to school.

7:10 I leave for my drive to school. (This is the worst part of my morning, because my babies are not awake yet, so I don't get to see them until after school! :( )

7:35 Stop at Sonic and buy a Route 44 Diet Coke. Yes that is correct, EVERY DAY. :)

7:45 Get to school

7:48-8:10 Tutorials. Kids can come in for help on their homework, or to hang out before first period. On Tuesdays I have "duty" by the cafetera doors to monitor who comes to tutorials and hand out library passes. (This is where my "Day in the Life Post" gets really interesting, as you can tell. )

8:15-10:02 1st Period, then 2nd Period. I teach English/Reading/Language Arts, so the lesson has something to do with that. Right now, we are reading Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt, and doing activities related to that.

10:02-10:56 My Department meeting with my 2 6th ELA teaching cohorts where we plan and discuss how things are going and get on the same page with each other.

10:56-11:26 Lunch. Yup, that early every day. I usually eat next door with my teaching BFF Mrs. Bunch and some other peeps.

11:26-12:28 My Conference Period. This is when I do lesson plans, make copies, get ready for the afternoon classes, call parents, or read my Kindle.

12:32-3:45 I teach 5th Period, Homeroom, 6th Period (which is my Pre-AP class. They are reading The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin right now, instead of Tuck Everlasting), and 7th Period. During 5th period I have 29 (used to be 30) students and during 7th Period I try to keep from pulling my hair out in frustration. They have bad attitudes. During homeroom right now all the students scored low on TAKS Reading last year, and the benchmark this year, so we are tutoring them in the hopes of helping them pass in April.

3:45-4:00 Clean up the chaos of my classrom. Except on Tuesdays. I have duty at the car awning. And on Thursdays. We have after-school tutoring until 4:50 until the TAKS tests are over.

4:00-4:30 Head home

4:30-5:00 Relax until Casey and the girls come home. Sometimes I start dinner.

5:00-6:00 Cooking dinner, Eating dinner, and hanging out with the fam.

6:00-7:15 Watching "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" and playing with the girls and talking with Casey about his day.

7:15 Bathtime for the girls. Casey and I rotate days. I also lay out their outfits for the next day during this time.

7:35-8:00 Story time, brush Kailey's teeth, blow-dry her hair, hang out and play in Kailey's room with both girls.

8:00 Bottle and bed for Makenna. Rock, Pray, and Bed for Kailey. Each of us takes one kiddo.

8:00-10:00 Usually TV time or Reading the ole Kindle. Right now I am enjoying watching The Bachelor, The Biggest Loser, American Idol, Survivor, and Amazing Race. Reality TV anyone?? On my Kindle, I just finished reading Redemption by Karen Kingsbury, and am about to start Remember by Karen Kingsbury. I am also reading One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp, and doing the whole Bloom Book Club Thing with Angie Smith and friends. :)

10:00-10:30 Quiet Time. I am finishing up David Nassar's "A Call to Die" right now...not sure what I'll do next. Suggestions??

10:30 Brush teeth and head off to beddie bye.

Its a plain life, but a blessed life, and I LOVE it! :)